Weaver&#39;s knot



Sept. 3, 1957 c. R. SMITH 2,804;676 WEAVERS KNOT Fild Nov.'4. 1955ATTOQ/VEX WEAVERS KNOT Charles Roland Smith, Fallowfield, Manchester,England assignor to Mellor Bromley & Co. Limited, a British companyApplication November 4, 1955, Serial No. 545,094

7 Claims priority, application Great Britain November 8, 1954 7 Claims.((31. 28-72) This invention relates to weavers knots and to an improvedmethod of forming the same.

Bya weavers knot is meant an interlacement of two textile yarns orthreads or other filaments (hereinafter for convenience referred tosimply as yarns) 'resulting, when tightened, in a knob-likeformationwhereby the yarns are tied or fastened together with the yarnends extending on opposite sides of the said formation.

' A weavers knot, moreover, serves to tie or fasten together ends ofyarns being dealt with in textile machinery such, for instance, asspinning and lwinding machines, knitting machines, weaving looms and.the like.

New in a well known relatively flat form of a weavers knot, as produced,for instance, on a conventional Boyce weavers knotter, a closed loopformation of one yarn is interengaged with an open loop of the otheryarn, and the extremity of each yarn extends outwardly through a loop ofthe other yarn, tightening of the knot being effected by pulling on thetwo yarns in respectively opposite directions. The present invention isconcernedv primarily with knots of this form. V i

In practice it is found that such a weavers knot is not very secure inthe case of springy, smoot h'and generally lively yarns, such as mohair,cross-bred, and worsteds. On the other hand, when once yarn ends havebeen tied together in a reasonably secure weavers knot, this knot, whenultimately incorporated in a woven or knitted fabric is not easy tountie to enable the yarn ends to be woven or otherwise incorporatedintothe cloth or fabric during the appropriate finishing operation.

The object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide animproved form of'weavers knot which is generally more secure, but iseasier to untie, than a conventional knot.

In a weaversknot formed in accordance with this invention, the end ofone of the two yarns tied together, instead of consisting of a singlestrand passing straight through a loop or bight of the other yarn,comprises two side by side portions extending through the said loop orbight.

These side by side portions are disposed parallel or substantially soand are pressed together in, and help to fill, the tightened knot,thereby making for greater security.

In one embodiment of the invention, the said side by side portions ofthe relevant yarn are integrally joined and thus constitute the oppositelimbs of an additional loop which is interengaged with theaforementioned loop or bight of the other yarn. In this case, the freeextremity of the additional loop passes right through the said loop orbight of the other yarn, and the knot can be readily untied, to enablethe yarn ends to be neatly incorporated into fabric during anappropriate finishing operation, by the simple expedient of pulling onthe free extremity to withdraw the additional loop from the knot.

In another embodiment of the invention, however, the additional loop iscut so that the two side by side portions of the end of the relevantyarn extending through the loop or bight of the other yarn areseparated. Thus, in this second, and often preferred, form of theimproved knot there are four instead of two free extremities, and theoutermost one of the two side by side portions is short and unconnectedwith the yarn from which it is cut.

nited States Pat P 7 2,804,676 Patented Sept. 3, 1 957 However, thepresence of the short, separate piece of yarn, wedged tightly in theloop or bight of the other yarn, is suflicient to prevent the knot frombeing accidentally pulled inside out and untied. On the other hand,untying of such a knot, to enable the yarn ends to be neatlyincorporated into fabric during a finishing operation, can, if required,be readily effected by first withdrawing the said short, separate pieceof yarn. In any event, the merit of the particular form of knot justdescribed is that it is safer against accidental untying by, forinstance, a latch needle in a knitting machine than is the case wherethe additional loop is uncut.

The invention accordingly includes a method of producing a weavers knotof the form herein referred to, which includes the characteristic stepsof drawing an additional loop of the yarn having therein the closedloop.

formation through the open loop formation of the other yarn, andretaining the additional loop in the knot during tightening of thelatter. The method, in appropriate cases, comprises the further step ofcutting the additionally drawn loop.

The improved weavers knot may be produced mechanically on any suitableknot-tying device adapted to form the additional loop and retain it inthe knot during tight ening of the same. It is accordingly within thescope of the invention to employ a device incorporating a hookedinstrument, e. g. a knitting needle, for forming the loops, in whichinstance an element, such as a pin, would be required for retaining theadditional loop and preventing it from being withdrawn from the knotduring tightening.

It is, however, mainly the intention to use for the intended purpose aBoyce weavers knotter, suitably modified. A knotter of this typeconventionally comprises, as well known to those acquainted with the artconcerned, thread gripping and positioning means for crossing twoinitially parallel yarn ends at spaced points to form a looptherebetween, a rotary tying bill for engaging the crossed yarns andforming a'knot, a scissor device at one side of the knotter for cuttingan appropriate one of the yarns, the other yarn being cut by the tyingbill, and means for stripping the knot from the said bill. In a knotterof this type the tying bill customarily comprises a stationary tyingblade, a pivoted cutting blade or shearing jaw and a third and resilientelement co-operable with the latter. Heretofore, appropriate edges ofthe pivoted cutting blade and of the adjacent resilient element weresharpened so that whenever the bill was closed after being previouslyopened to receive the appropriate yarn, it functioned to trap and severthis yarn. That is to say, the said yarn was severed by the relativelymoving sharpened edges of the bill to produce one of the free shortextremities of the knot, and the yarn was trapped between the cuttingblade and the stationary tying blade. The trapped extremity of this yarnremained in the bill during stripping of the knot from'the latter as aconsequence of which the knot was pulled inside out over the trappedextremity. It will accordingly be appreciated that when typing a knotwith a conventional Boyce knotter, both of the yarn ends are cut (one inthe side scissor device and the other in the tying bill) beforestripping of the knot from the bill; The result of cutting the ends isto produce two short free extremities cm respectively opposite sides ofthe knot.

To enable a conventional Boyce weavers knotter to produce a knot of theimproved form, the elements of the tying bill are so formed as to beadapted to engage the end of the relevant yarn and draw it into anadditional loop, and the knotter is provided with a common scissordevice arranged and operable to cut both of the yarns after the formedknot has been stripped from the bill,- all as described in ourco-pending application Serial No. 545,021, filed Nov. 4, 1955.

In order that the invention may be more clearly understood and readilycarried into practical eflfect, specific 3 examples of the improvedweavers knot will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawings,

- wherein,

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation, for purposes of comparison,of a standard weavers knot of the form concerned,

Figure 2 is a similar representation of such knot modified in accordanceWith this invention and with the additional loop uncut, and

Figure 3 is an alternative (and often preferred) version of the improvedknot showing the additional loop cut to render the knot safer againstaccidental untying.

Referring to Figure 1 it will be seen that the standard relatively fiatweavers knot depicted therein is produced by tying'together two yarns yand y which, for convenience in illustration, are respectively shadedand unshaded. The knot comprises a closed loop a formed by a crossing ofthe shaded yarn y at x, which loop is interengaged with an open loop orbight b of the unshaped yarn y. A short extremity consisting of a singlestrand, of the yarn y extends outwardly through the loop or bight b,whilst a similarly short extremity d of the yarn y extends outwardlythrough the loop a. The two extremities c and a accordingly protrudefrom respectively opposite sides of the knot, and the latter istightened by pulling on the yarns y and y in the opposite directionsindicated by the arrows A and B.

The form of the improved knot illustrated in Figure 2 is in manyrespects similar to the standard knot just described with reference toFigure 1, although, in the interests of greater security, it is modifiedby the provision therein of an additional loop e of the yarn y which isdrawn through the open loop or bight b. As before, the extremity c ofthe yarn y extends outwardly through the loop or bight b, and themodified knot is tightened in the usual way by pulling on the yarns yand y in the opposite directions A and B respectively. Thus, instead ofa short single strand of the yarn y projecting through the loop or bightb as in the standard knot depicted in Figure 1, two side by sideportions e of the said yarn, constituted by the limbs of the additionalloop 0, extend through the loop or bight to provide the greatersecurity. For the sake of clarity in Figure 2, the modified knot isshown purely diagrammatically and in an opened-out condition; inpractice, however, tightening of the knot results in the interengagedloops 5, b and e being drawn together so that the connected side by sideportions e lie wedged together tightly within the loop or bight bwiththe rounded connecting portion of the loop e protruding from the knot.The right-hand one of the straight side by side portions e prevents theknot, in the ordinary way, from being pulled inside out and untied. Butby pulling the free extremity c of the shaded yarn y, the ad ditionalloop e can be readily withdrawn from the knot to untie the same for thepurpose hereinbefore explained.

But since, especially in a case where the joined yarns are to beincorporated into knitted fabric on a knitting machine, the presence ofthe protruding portion of the additional loop e could result in the knotbecoming accidentially untied (e. g. as a consequence of the loop ebeing caught by a needle of the knitting machine), it will usually bepreferred to cut through the said loop after tightening of the knot. Asillustrated in Figure 3, the cutting of the additional loop disconnectsthe side by side portions or limbs e and results in the productionadjacent to the knot of two further free extremities of yarn f and gwhich are innocuous so far as accidental untying of the knot isconcerned. The right-hand portion e', although inthis case only shortand detached from the yarn y, nevertheless is still enabled to functionin the same manner as the. corresponding portion in the previouslydescribed example; that is to say, being wedged tightly in the loop orbight b of the yarn y it acts to prevent the knot from being pulledinside out and untied when subject to strain lengthwise of the joinedyarns.

It is to be clearly understood that wherever, in the foregoingdescription and in the appended claims two yarns are referred to, e. g.the yarns y and y, these will not usually be two separate yarns butrather two ends of the same yarn. Two separate and even different yarnsmay, however, be tied together in the manner herein described.

I claim:

1. A weavers knot comprising loops of two textile yarns which areinterengaged to produce a knob-like formation whereby the yarns are tiedtogether, the extremity of each yarn passing outwardly through a loop ofthe other yarn with the two extremities extending from opposite sides ofthe said formation, and two side by side portions of the end of one ofthe two yarns extending through a loop of the other yarn to enhance thesecurity of the knot.

2. A weavers knot according to claim 1, wherein the side by sideportions of the said end of one of the two yarns are constituted by thetwo limbs of an additional loop which is interengaged with the said loopof the other yarn.

. 3. A weavers knot comprising loops of two textile yarns which areinterengaged to produce a knob-like formation whereby the yarns are tiedtogether, the extermity of each yarn passing outwardly through a loop ofthe other yarn with the two extremities extending from opposite sides ofthe said formation, and two side by side portions of the end of one ofthe two yarns, initially constituted by the limbs of an additional loopof the said yarn, extending through a loop of the other yarn, but thisadditional loop being cut so that the side by side portions aredisconnected, thereby providing two further free extermities of yarnprotruding from the knot and one of said side by side portions detachedfrom the aforesaid end of one of the two yarns, said detached portionenhancing the security of the knot.

4. A weavers knot comprising a closed loop formation of a first yarnwhich is interengaged with an open loop formation of a second yarn, anextremity of each yarn extending outwardly through the loop of the otheryarn with the extremities protruding from opposite sides of the knot,the end portion of the said first yarn being constituted by anadditional loop having side by side limbs which pass through the openloop formation of the second yarn, to enhance the security of the knot.

5. A modified form of the weavers knot claimed in claim 4, wherein aprotruding portion of the said additional loop initially connecting theside by side limbs is cut to produce two further free extremities ofyarn and also to detach one of said limbs from said first yarn, thisdetached limb being wedged in the knot to enhance the security thereof.

6. A method of producing a weavers knot by which two yarns are tiedtogether, which method includes the steps of interengaging a closed loopformation of one of the yarns with an open loop formation of the otheryarn, drawing an additional loop of the yarn having there in the closedloop formation through the said open loop formation and tightening theknot, the said additional loop being retained in the knot duringtightening of the same.

7. A method of producing a weavers knot according to claim 6, whichincludes the further step of cutting the additionally drawn loop afterthe knot has been tightened.

References Cited in the file of this patent Encyclopedia of Knots andFancy Rope Work (Graumont and Hensel), published by Cornell MaritimePress (New York) 1945. Plates 7 and 38.

The Ashley Book of Knots (Ashley), published by Doubleday and Company,Inc. (New York), 1946, page 262,

